Updates

The sad reality is these people hate truth! They do not care about other individuals free speech and/or right to communicate a different perspective. The bottom line - there is a God. He made an everlasting Covenant with a specific people, who were to inhabit a specific piece of territory. The other nations He spread out into all the earth. To the opposition, they are unwilling to allow the free thought and ideas of anyone who does not agree with them.

Free speech comes with responsibility. The responsibility to protect other's rights to have their own thoughts, belief and speech, etc., even if one doesn't agree with them. That has always been the responsibility of every American. If these people do not want to protect their rights, along with their neighbors - its time for them to find another country to spew their hatred, but its not here!

This is going to be the fight of this generation... the question is, will Americans, no matter what walk of life they come from, be willing to unite together with one common goal - to defend our God given, inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as is afforded to us through the most important historical document ever created by men of integrity and fortitude - the Constitution.

I was recently invited to present the liberal case for Israel at UC Berkeley. In my remarks, I advocated the establishment of a Palestinian state and a negotiated end of the conflict. I encouraged hostile questions from protesters and answered all of them. The audience responded positively to the dialogue.

Then immediately after my address, a poster was plastered outside the UC Berkeley School of Law with a swastika drawn on my face. The dean of UC Berkeley School of Law, Erwin Chemerinsky, sent a letter condemning the swastika.

(New York) –October 26, 2017 – Pearson Publishing, with a reported share in excess of $8.2 billion in global revenues and control of more than 60% of US textbook sales in their march to recast global education is once again in hot water for a recurring theme: anti-Semitism.

As reported in today’s feature by Deborah Danan on Breitbart.com Pearson’s instructional book on nursing, Nursing: A Concept-Based Approach to Learning, is under fire for a section that notes “Jews believe that pain must be shared and validated by others.”

Laurie Cardoza-Moore, founder and President of Proclaiming Justice to the Nations, an organization that forges Christian-Jewish alliances against anti-Semitism, is no stranger to the David and Goliath battle with Pearson. She today slammed the nursing textbook comment in the Breitbart feature as, “just another in a long line of anti-Semitic content published by Pearson.”

“This is outrageously racist and just another example of the anti-Semitic views and content produced by the authors and editors at Pearson. They are serial offenders,” she noted.

In 2012, Cardoza-Moore’s organization, PJTN, exposed another anti-Semitic scenario in Pearson’s textbook, Human Geography, distributed nationally to schools including those in Williamson Country, Tennessee where PJTN is based. Noted Cardoza-Moore: “The book legitimized Palestinians blowing themselves up in a Jerusalem restaurant because they were waging war against Israeli government policies and army actions. This is what children across the nation were being taught. We went into immediate action against Pearson.”

PJTN’s campaign against Pearson went national attracting media coverage that forced the publishing giant to apologize with the promise that the offending materials would be removed from all future print and online versions. “After follow-up scrutiny, we found that the quotes were not removed but simply moved elsewhere in the textbook. With another media assault, we managed to get the anti-Semitic quote removed completely,” noted Cardoza-Moore.

Interviewed by Breitbart on Pearson’s latest offense, she was not surprised. “It’s time for school districts, colleges, universities and nursing schools across the US to remove all Pearson published products. Their textbooks have proven to be historically altered and inaccurate, culturally biased, and not reflective of American values. This is only the latest example of an attempt by Pearson to fuel anti-Semitism through their textbooks and curriculum. We will continue with every effort to expose them,” Cardoza-Moore concluded.

TEL AVIV – An American publishing house has issued an apology for claiming in a nursing textbook that Jewish patients are often “vocal and demanding of assistance.”

A copy of the page, taken from Pearson’s book entitled Nursing: A Concept-Based Approach to Learning, went viral on social media for its descriptions of how minorities including Jews, Asians, blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans and “Arabs/Muslims” respond to pain.

Blacks, the book asserts, “often report higher pain intensity” and believe “suffering and pain are inevitable” and is “proportional to faith.” Hispanics may “believe that pain is a form of punishment,” it continues. Asian patients who complain openly about pain are “thought to have low social skills,” while Filipinos “view it as the will of God.”

The section also noted that Jews “believe that pain must be shared and validated by others.”

The Pearson education publishing company has apologized for a section of one of its nursing textbooks that claims Jews are often “[v]ocal and demanding of assistance” during medical treatment.

The page from “Nursing: A Concept-Based Approach to Learning” drew widespread ire on social media for its descriptions of how Jews, Asians, blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans and “Arabs/Muslims” respond to pain.

“This Is Not A Jewish Problem, This is An American Problem,” Notes PJTN State Director Mike Goldstein

Columbus, Ohio – 10/5/17 A public rally held in front of the Ohio Holocaust memorial in Columbus was the centrepiece to draw attention to the latest state version of Proclaiming Justice to The Nation’s (PJTN) anti-BDS resolution education initiative originally passed in Tennessee in 2015.

Currently making its way through the Ohio State Legislature after being sponsored by Rep. Andrew Thompson (R-Marietta) and Rep. Dave Greenspan (R-Westlake), House Recurrent Resolution 10 (HCR10) marks a dozen resolutions of its kind to emerge at the state level with the latest introductions being Texas and Ohio. The Ohio resolution condemns the anti-Semitic BDS movement and its attempts to silence pro-Israel voices on campuses state-wide. It goes on to reiterate the United States and Israel’s shared values and relationship in the face of growing global anti-Semitism.

The Columbus event was attended by Jewish and Christian faith leaders and local legislators, including co-sponsor Andrew Thompson (R-Marietta) who told the crowd: “Let’s not kid our self, the BDS movement is about wiping Israel off the map and if we don’t stand strongly and firmly against that, insist that our campuses defend the rights of Jewish students and allies of Israel, we could face much darker outcomes.”

Michael Goldstein, Ohio director of Proclaiming Justice to The Nations, compared Nazi Germany's propaganda on Jews to "BDS propaganda" on college campuses, noting:

“On campus, what the BDS organizations are doing, is that they carry out an array of intolerant activities to silence Jewish and pro-Israel voices, many of them Christian, most frequently through shutting down or disruption of pro-Israel events, but also through the vilification and intimidation of pro-Israel groups and individuals, with the clear intention of delegitimizing their perspective, their point of view, or causing them to be too afraid or uncomfortable to express it. This is not just a Jewish problem; it is an American problem, relating to the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.”

Laurie Cardoza-Moore, President of Proclaiming Justice to The Nations, underscored Goldstein’s sentiments and commended Ohio on becoming the latest state to introduce the anti-BDS legislation: “Ohio must be congratulated for standing in defense of Israel and the Jewish people and against attempts made by the anti-Semitic BDS movement to silence their voice on U.S university campuses. Jewish and Christian Zionists must not bow to efforts that violate the 1964 Civil Rights Act that silences their voice and their opinion because of intimidation and threats of violence.” She added: “The anti-BDS resolutions are increasingly gaining acceptance and support across the United States because hatred does not belong on our campuses and every student deserves to be educated and thrive on American campuses without fear or intimidation.”

Proclaiming Justice to The Nations (PJTN), a 501c3 non-profit organization, was established to educate Christians about their Biblical responsibility to stand with their Jewish brethren and Israel, utilizing powerful film and video presentations, a variety of grassroots rallies, events and speaking engagements to facilitate dialogue between the Christian and Jewish communities in support of the State of Israel and against global anti-Semitism. PJTN was instrumental in encouraging anti-BDS legislation in Tennessee, which has now been adopted by 10 States across America. They also produced the award-wining documentary film Boycott THIS! which exposes the lies behind the anti-Semitic BDS movement.

I am grateful for your support of Proclaiming Justice to The Nations! It is only with your financial contributions and help in spreading the word that we are able to continue our work of fighting anti-Semitism and supporting Israel. We have a great deal more work to do, and I am asking for your help in our fundraising drive.

Here's how you can help right now:

Become a monthly donor today. We need 5,000 new monthly donors of at least $20 by the end of the year in order to fully achieve our goals. Click here for our easy donation form, and your monthly contribution will be automatically charged to your credit card. This is less than the price of four coffees per month, and the sooner you start contributing, the bigger your tax write-off will be by the end of the year!

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Scripture tells us: "The face of the L-RD is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth" Psalm 34:16.

For all the false libels waged against the so-called, "evil Israel and her oppressive regime", the City Hall in Tel Aviv sent this picture to comfort their friends, the Americans. Similar to the dedication of the 9/11 Memorial in Israel after that tragic event, Israeli can rightfully express the compassionate understanding of living with the daily threat of a terrorist attack. It is comforting to know that our true friend and ally, Israel, is standing with America in this, another hour of our need for healing in the aftermath of the Las Vegas tragedy.

Americans, as we have always done during times of tragedy, are bonding together to pray to The Almighty to bring comfort to the families who lost loved ones, to those who were injured and to heal our land.

As we prayerfully remember those who lost loved ones and those who are in need of a healing from the wounds sustained during this attack, I pray you will also thank Almighty God for the"friend who sticks closer than a brother," Israel, for sending the comfort of a true friend to us.

John Kirkpatrick and his wife, Shirley, on their farm in 2010.(Susie Wyshak/Flickr)

Growing etrogs is a difficult business. Too much sun and the yellow skin of the citrus fruit will burn; too little sun and the flowers won’t blossom. There’s infestation to worry about—red citrus mites are particularly fond of them. And then there are the religious prohibitions; blemishes render the fruit, a citron in English, useless for Sukkot, so if a branch or leaf pierces the skin of the etrog, you’re in trouble.

But John Kirkpatrick, a third-generation citrus farmer in California’s San Joaquin Valley, has overcome these obstacles and more. He’s the only large-scale grower of etrogs in the United States.

The octogenarian Kirkpatrick, who grows lemons, tangelos, and oranges in addition to etrogs on some 50 acres, is a Presbyterian. He knew almost nothing about the fruit when he was approached with an unusual business proposal more than 30 years ago. “It’s been a cultural trip for us—I’m Christian, but I now understand an awful lot about halakhic law,” Kirkpatrick said, using the Hebrew word for Jewish law, “as it relates to agriculture.”

In the fall of 1980, Kirkpatrick got a call from Yisroel Weisberger, “an Orthodox Jewish boy who worked in a Judaicia store in Brooklyn,” the farmer said. Weisberger, who also held a part-time job in a customs house handling etrog imports from Israel, was interested in finding a way to grow the fruit in America. Each Sukkot, Jews are commanded to shake the arba minim, or four species—the etrog and lulav, as well as willow and myrtle branches—to celebrate the holiday. (These days, a set of the four typically sells for $40, with the etrog the most expensive component, but can cost up to $150, depending on where it’s from. Most etrogs are imported from Israel, Italy, and Morocco.) Producing and selling them here had the potential to be a lucrative business.

But first Weisberger needed a farmer. He had heard of Kirkpatrick, a well-established citrus farmer—back then he was chairman of the Citrus Research Board—and hoped Kirkpatrick might refer him to a suitable grower. They spoke for an hour, and Kirkpatrick grew fascinated by the history and culture of the etrog, which he knew little about. “I had read about them in a five-volume set about citrus fruit,” he recalled, but he’d never seen one. Over the course of the conversation, Kirkpatrick became “convinced by the attractive-sounding value of the fruit,” as he put it. “You’ve already found your man,” he said when Weisberger asked him for some names. “And from there it was onward and upwards.”

Success didn’t come easy. “I found out that although I’m an expert citrus grower, I was not an expert etrog grower,” Kirkpatrick said. “It’s easier to grow 2,000 acres of oranges or lemons than to grow one acre of etrogs.” A friend of Weisberg’s helped them acquire plants from an Israeli grove, but the first few years were particularly tough. In the beginning, they produced “mediocre fruit that sold on street for $2 or $3 a piece,” Kirkpatrick said.

Unlike the other fruit Kirkpatrick grew, etrogs came with an additional set of rules. “It requires understanding of halakhah,” Kirkpatrick said. The lineage of each etrog tree must be certified, and the fruit can’t be grown on grafted or budded trees. Rabbinical supervision is required.

Kirkpatrick knows his Jewish religious terminology, at least as it pertains to etrogs. He recounted the differing opinions about the necessity of pitoms, or stems, to be intact to qualify the fruit as “complete.” And he explained that his business began to turn around in 1987, “when we got to our first shmita” —the last year in the seven-year agricultural cycle mandated by the Torah as a year of rest—“and had a pretty good year.” (In 1995 Weisberger got his brother-in-law Yaakov Shlomo Rothberg involved, and he has since taken over as Kirkpatrick’s partner.)

While Kirkpatrick was gregarious during an initial phone conversation, he declined to speak on further attempts to contact him. In the 2010 Encyclopedia of Jewish Food, Gil Marks writes about Kirkpatrick’s etrogs and reports that he has about 250 etrog trees on his farm, with his orchards producing approximately 3,000 etrogs a year suitable for use on Sukkot; some 9,000 don’t qualify.

David Wiseman, the owner of Zaide Reuven’s Esrog Farm, a Dallas-based distributor of the four species, has been buying etrogs from Kirkpatrick for 13 years. “They produce excellent quality, and are honest, honest people,” Wiseman said. “It’s a pleasure to work with people who know what they’re doing,” Wiseman’s etrogs sell together with lulavs for between $50 and $130. “John is very knowledgeable about the Jewish laws and concerned that he fulfills all the details of the Jewish laws,” Wiseman said. “If anything, he’s more stringent than he needs to be.”

And what happens to all that fruit that doesn’t make the grade? Etrogs that ripen and can’t be used for Sukkot, Kirkpatrick explained, end up being sold to greengrocers, manufacturers of marmalade, and, most frequently, the makers of citron-infused vodka—opening the distinct possibility that some of his etrogs are enjoyed year-round.

This week as we look forward to the Lord’s Festival celebration of “Sukkot” (The Feast of Tabernacles)—we as Christians are encouraged to remember the biblical re-telling of how God miraculously provided for Israel as they dwelled in huts (“sukkot”) during their 40 year sojourn in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt.

Sukkot is often called the “Season of our Joy” celebrating the harvest ingathering of the fall season. It is one of the three pilgrimage Feasts of the Lord mentioned in the Bible where God calls the nations of the earth to worship Him on His holy mountain—and He commands them not to come before Him empty handed.

Because of the call of Sukkot to rejoice for the blessing of God’s provision and care for our lives (Deut. 16:14-16) it is especially important to give of our increase.

Proclaiming Justice to The Nations

At PJTN, our members are the strengthening foundation and empowering, sustaining force of all that we do. Please consider joining us in our efforts to raise awareness, stand against Anti-Semitism in all forms and thereby strengthen advocacy for our Jewish brothers and sisters, and the beloved nation of Israel.